Strange Purple Orb Spotted in Deep Waters Off California

Deep-sea researchers aboard the Nautilus have found a strange creature lurking in the waters off the Channel Islands near California.

"This unidentified purple orb stumped our scientists onboard,” according to the Nautilus website. “After sampling, it began to unfold to reveal two distinct lobes. This could possibly be a new species of nudibranch."

Nudibranchs, sometimes called sea slugs, can be quite colorful. Some look like slugs, while others look almost spiny.

The “purple blob,” as the scientists on the research vessel Nautilus called it, remains a mystery, but the researchers captured the sample and plan on analyzing it further.

Other theories of what it might be include an egg sac or some kind of embryo, but the Nautilus website says it could be a while before we know.

"It could take several years for scientists to determine if this organism is a new species,” according to the website.